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4 ideas for family fun on a snow day in Clarksville (other than social media and homework)

There are two things you should not do on a day when the schools are closed: Spend all day scrolling on your phone, and homework.

If you're trapped in the house with the kids, turn the day into something fun. You could have a movie marathon ("Lord of the Rings" or "Star Wars" should fill the day) or pull out the board games (I have dibs on the Monopoly top hat). But here are a few other ideas to get your wheels turning.

Make snow food

Get the kids in the kitchen to experiment with snow food. Two recipes to try:

Snow Ice Cream

4 cups snow

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup milk

Don't pack down snow, just scoop into a measuring container. Put snow in freezer while gathering other ingredients. Mix together milk, vanilla and sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves well. Slowly add snow to mixture, stirring constantly until thick like ice cream. Serve.

Snow Cones

4 to 6 cups snow or ice

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

1 small packet Kool Aid mix

In medium pan, combine sugar and water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle Kool Aid packet in. Stir 1 to 2 minutes until it dissolves completely. Using a funnel, pour syrup into a container (if you have one). Refrigerate syrup for at least an hour. Fill cup with snow/ice. Either pour or spoon on the syrup.

Make frozen bubbles

Grab a bottle of your favorite bubble solution and head outside on a freezing day. The colder the air temperature, the better this experiment works.

Find an area that is sheltered from the wind. Even the slightest breeze will carry your bubble. Wave your wand instead of blowing into it to make bubbles. The warm air from your lungs causes the bubble to take longer to freeze.

Blow the bubbles high in the air so they have time to freeze as they float to the ground.

Depending on the temperature, it can take just moments for the bubbles to freeze and start forming crystalline patterns.

Try to catch the bubbles with your wand. Watch the bubbles shatter as they fall to the ground.

Hiking at Dunbar Cave

The forest is beautiful when there's a light snow everywhere, and a hike in the crisp winter weather can warm the soul. If you don't have a forest worth exploring nearby, drive out to Dunbar Cave, which has free hiking trails that are easy on the ankles. It's at 401 Old Dunbar Cave Road.

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Model trains exhibit(Photo: Sarah Dixon/The Leaf-Chronicle)

Visit the library or museum

If you have little bitties and have never been to the play area inside the Clarksville-Montgomery County Public Library, you're missing out. It's a nice, free way to take a break with a book nearby while your kiddo plays for free in a safe, fun environment. Upstairs, there's The library is at 350 Pageant Lane.

There's also the Customs House Museum and Cultural Center, which has an entire make-believe grocery store, model trains, a bubble room and enough crafts to keep your kid busy for hours. Customs House is at 200 S. Second St.

Do you have other ideas about how to have fun on a snow day? Email Leaf-Chronicle Editor Chris Smith at chrissmith@theleafchronicle.com, 931-245-0282. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to TheLeafChronicle.com.